Literally thousands of outdoor sporting and recreational events take place during the Autumn months of each year. High school, college and professional sporting events such as football and soccer draw millions of spectators each Autumn to outdoor stadiums. A very substantial number of these events throughout the Autumn and early Winter seasons take place in mildly bad to miserable weather conditions. Temperatures can drop to near and below freezing and wind, rain, snow and sleet add to the misery.
Spectators find some relief by wearing heavy clothing and covering up with blankets. However, spectators are relatively inactive (they may sit for upward of two to three hours) and rain and cold mixed together can penetrate through the warmest of these garments.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to equip the spectator with a light weight case or bag e.g., like a sports duffel bag that can be easily carried into a stadium and stored under a stadium seat. Should weather conditions deteriorate, a heating cover is withdrawn from the bag, draped over the spectator as desired and controls adjusted to produce the desired warmth and protection from the elements.
Achieving the above objective is not, as one might suppose, a matter of removing one's electric blanket from its normal place on the bed, hooking up a battery and stuffing the combination into a carrying bag. Electric produced heat demands a high rate of electricity and to supply an electric blanket with enough power to last even the two to three hours for a football game would require a battery too heavy to carry.
An electric blanket is typically used in the warmth and protection of a bedroom. In an outdoor situation with temperatures near or below freezing, the heat from an electric blanket would be rapidly drawn from the exterior side of the blanket and largely reduce any benefit to the user. Further, a blanket rapidly absorbs moisture and when wet would augment rather than alleviate discomfort.
An electric blanket includes heating elements such as heating wires tacked in place between plies of cloth and not intended for the rough handling of a portable cover. Additionally, a cover as contemplated by this invention must be powered by a rechargeable battery with accident proof but convenient connection for both applying power to the cover and recharging the battery. It is preferably temperature controllable and it may be desired to provide recharging and/or heating via a vehicle cigarette lighter, e.g., on the way to a sporting event.